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The International theological conference to the 600th anniversary of Master Jan Hus´s death was held from April the 9th till April the 12th, 2015 in Prague. It was organized by the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren and the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University in cooperation with the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. Speeches and presentations were given by leading Czech and foreign experts, historians and theologians.

The conference aimed to remind of the life and work of Jan Hus, and to describe the social and theological context of that time. Jan Hus, by his life and death, provoked a Reform movement in the Czech Lands, a movement that was more than a hundred years ahead of the following European Reformation.

On our website you are welcome to read most of the speeches which were held in the English language. Celý příspěvek →

„The organizers of the Commemoration Festival of Master Jan Hus want to focus primarily on his principle thoughts and formative attitudes. On their behalf, I want to invite you all to Prague to commemorate and celebrate, and this is why you have this flyer with the programme for the upcoming festivities in July,“ Joel Ruml, Synodal Senior of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren.

It may seem that to commemorate this six hundred year old event is unnecessary and an ineffective expenditure of our energy and resources. It is true, that since the death of Master Jan Hus, many things have happened and changed. By the fact that Hus was placed in the top ten greatest Czech personalities (according to a survey by Czech Television in 2005), this confirmed, that his attitudes and principles are not so outdated and obsolete.

We invite you to Prague in July and on other dates to festivals in other regions, because you can meet Hus who:

did not like hypocrisy and sought credibility,

hated a lie, and rejoiced in the truth,

refused pride and arrogance and replaced them by tolerance, rebelled against carelessness; who believed that is it better to be conscientious and follow the rules knew what is extravagance, but who was deeply fond of temperance and modesty,

did not understand resignation in life only joy,

did not know a shallow patriotism, but found joy in Czech culture,

was not conciliary to laziness, but enjoyed creativity and knowledge,

refused rudeness and who loved purity and morality,

could understand errors, but was not passive in this sense, and who tried even more after making any mistake.

If you come and encounter this legacy of Master Jan Hus, you will confirm, that it is not futile to come back to it.

He was born in 1370 in Husinec. He studied at the University in Prague, where he also taught and later he became its rector. He preached in the Bethlehem Chapel for ten years. The Bible became the basis of his teachings and life.

He pointed to the moral decay of the church in the early 15th century. He led Christians so that their faith manifested in their lives in truth, love and honesty. He adopted some ideas of the English theologian John Wycliffe. He criticized the granting of indulgences and the crusades. Even if the edict came from the Pope himself but conflicted with the Bible, it was not to be obeyed.

He had to leave Prague and retreated into exile at Kozí Hrádek and Krakovec castle, where he devoted himself to literary work. He is the author of many writings, in Latin and Czech, which are still a source of inspiration.

At the Council of Constance, where he was invited, Hus was condemned as a heretic. He was imprisoned, and when he refused to retract his views, he was burned at the stake on the 6th of July 1415. The ashes were thrown into the Rhine to prevent his followers from making his grave a place of pilgrimage. His immolation triggered protest in Bohemia and it inspired the Czech Reformation.

One hundred years later, Hus´ ideas and legacy became an inspiration for Martin Luther and other reformers in Europe. In Bohemia it found acclaim during the establishment of the independent state represented by T. G. Masaryk.

In 1999 Pope John Paul II emphasized Hus´s moral courage and expressed deep regret over his cruel death and named him a Reformer of the Church.